Which tilt-shift?

[S_Egbert]

I am really wanting to get one of Canons tilt-shift lenses but am having a hard time choosing which one.
I would be using it almost exclusively for landscape. Right now I have a 30D, but plan on adding a FF body to my bag, weather it be a 5D or its predecessor.
For the crop body I would think the 24 TS-E would be best, but for FF maybe the 45? I just don't know
I've never used a TS so I am looking for opinions from those who have.
Thanks in advance.

[JDArt]

If landscape is going to be your thing, the 24 would be the way to go, I think. It's not the most versatile of these lenses, but really the reason they make three is that no one lens is best suited for all occasions.

[S_Egbert]

Thanks JD, boy that was a quick response!
I'm leaning towards the 24 also, I just want to be sure as I can only afford one.

[lmitch6]

I have the 24mm TS-E and love it. I primarily shoot landscapes as well. I'm still getting comfortable with the tilt part though. Great lens!!

[JDArt]

These are not easy lenses to learn how to use to their fullest, IMO.

[RobAmy]

Originally Posted by JDArt

These are not easy lenses to learn how to use to their fullest, IMO.

Agreed, I have the 90mm and there is a learning curve for sure

[S_Egbert]

Originally Posted by lmitch6

I have the 24mm TS-E and love it. I primarily shoot landscapes as well. I'm still getting comfortable with the tilt part though. Great lens!!

Are you using the 24 on a crop body or FF?

Thank you all for your input, very helpful.

[Rense]

for landscape/architectural shots, take the 24mm.
Be prepared for a learning curve.

What is it that you are trying to achieve?

[S_Egbert]

Originally Posted by Rense

for landscape/architectural shots, take the 24mm.
Be prepared for a learning curve.

What is it that you are trying to achieve?

Thanks Rense,
What I'm after is maximum DOF without the distortion I get from tilting the camera body with a wide angle to achieve it.
An example would be a wildflower meadow with mountains in the background, where I want focus from right in front of the lens to the mountain, without bending trees or squashing the mountain.
I'm looking to make large format type images without LF equipment.

[Rense]

in that case a 24 mm or a 45 mm would be best.

[dougsmit]

A comment would be appropriate from actual owners of the 24 TS-E regarding movements. Somewhere I was led to believe that there are issues using both tilt and shift together. When I looked into this a couple years back it seemed that the Hartblei Super Rotators might be the answer but there was more than a little problem with unavailability which their web site suggests has not improved.

My decision at that time was to settle for software correction (CombineZM for focus stacking and Photoshop distortion tools. As our sensor sizes get larger, the possibility of shooting loose but parallel and cropping looks better. I would love to see examples of real images using the controls of T/S lenses to full effect proving I was wrong to put off the purchase. I need to see things that can not be done in software before I feel comfortable buying into this rather expensive field.

[Rense]

Doug, how about this link and (altough a 90mm) here.

Some general introduction can be found here.

THe mathematics of it all can be found here

While this is a very valuable resource

[S_Egbert]

Thanks for those links Rense, very helpful.

[Rense]

you're welcome.

[RobAmy]

Here are a cuole I took yesterday and today. It is with the 90mm, which I know you are not interested in but atleast you can see some results from it.

My wife in the kayak and me in mine, not easy to focus manually in this situation

[dougsmit]

Originally Posted by Rense

While this is a very valuable resource

Thank you! This last resource did include some links that went beyond test shots. Most I've seen seem to involve shooting still-lifes and bookcases but there were some practical uses offered. Interestingly, several showed using the lens to throw areas out of focus that would have been sharp ordinarily (certainly a use for the lens outside my normal planning).